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Have you ever woken up in the middle of the night soaked to the bone after having a bad dream? Then you have no clue why you woke up except for the fact that you had a bad dream.  Most of us do NOT remember our dreams, but is a known fact that we all dream. 

Have you ever had a dream where you woke up with an in-explainable eerie feeling and you just can't shake it off, or have you woken up with such a wonderful feeling where you just can't wait to start your day?

Often children have night terrors and this may be the result of difficult information gained through the day, and because their brains are not developed enough to process all the complex information.  

We do not know exactly how our brains work, but scientists have been doing sleep- experiments for years now to try and figure out the real reason why we actually dream. Scientists can still give no specific reason exactly why we dream, but they have come up with quite a few interesting theories. 

What we know about dreams and nightmares

We know that most of our dreams occur during the REM stage of sleep. To dream we need to be in a relaxed state of mind, without the influence  of drugs or alcohol, as these could influence the REM state of sleep and cause negative dreams.  

Some scientists believe that dreaming serves a primary purpose to form and process our memories of the day. Others say that it is only our brains responding to biochemical changes that occur during our sleep.

Depression and anxiety are often accompanied by nightmares and the presence of severe nightmares might be an indication of a severe underlying depression.    

Depression and anxiety might be the reason why people have severe nightmares. With an unbalanced serotonin level a person might even have recurring nightmares. Nightmares often cause more anxiety and sleep  deprivation. These nightmares often subside once the patient starts to take some form of medication to balance the serotonin levels.  

What is serotonin?

Serotonin is a chemical nerve cells produce. It sends signals between your nerve cells. Serotonin is found mostly in the digestive system, although it’s also in blood platelets and throughout the central nervous system. Serotonin  is made from the essential amino acid tryptophan. This amino acid must  enter your body through your diet and is commonly found in foods such as  nuts, cheese, and red meat. Tryptophan deficiency can lead to lower serotonin levels. This can result in mood disorders, such as anxiety or  depression. 

Serotonin defends your body against depression and anxiety and it also promotes feelings of relaxation, peace, hope, and optimism. On the other hand, if serotonin levels become unbalanced, the result can be a variety of emotional, mood disorders and sleep deprivation.  

How can recording your dreams help you?

By writing down your dreams you could open up a complete new world to yourself. You will become more and more connected to yourself. By  exploring your dreams you are basically listening to yourself. Your unconscious mind keeps on telling you about things in your life that needs improvement.  

When you write down a dream and find the actual meaning behind it, you can become aware of things in your life that you might not have been aware of.  It is important to write it down immediately after you wake up, otherwise those memories will be lost in minutes.  

In time you might feel more connected to your inner  self.  You could even start controlling your dreams through Lucid  dreaming. 

What is lucid dreaming?

Lucid dreaming means that you are aware of the fact that you are dreaming. Lucid dreams occur while a person is in the middle of a normal dream and suddenly realizes that they are dreaming.  

This is called a dream-initiated lucid dream. A wake-initiated lucid dream occurs when you go from a normal waking state directly into a dream state, with no apparent lapse in consciousness. In either case,  the dreams tend to be more bizarre and emotional than regular dreams.  Most importantly, you will have at least some ability to control your  "dream self" and the surrounding dream.  

If you want to learn more about the concepts discussed above, please follow the links below.  

http://www.world-of-lucid-dreaming.com/what-is-lucid-dreaming.html

https://www.healthline.com/health/mental-health/serotonin